The invention is in the field of hand-operated devices for making tufted rugs or similar articles, and is particularly suitable for home use by hobyists.
There are numerous prior art devices for making tufted rugs by hand, Perhaps the simplest one is a punch needle having a yarn eyelet near the sharp end. The sharp end is pushed through stretched burlap and then withdrawn to form yarn loops at the opposite side of the burlap. A punch needle of this general type, but with a spring loaded arrangement, is shown is U.S. Pat. No. 1,912,977. Other prior art rug-tufting devices use a looper in addition to the needle and operate on the principle of piercing the burlap with the needle to form a yarn loop at the opposite side of the burlap, pushing the looper through the same hole to maintain the loop while withdrawing the needle, pushing the needle through the burlap again to form an adjacent hole and pull the yarn through the new hole, withdrawing the looper from the previous hole and inserting it through the new hole to hold the new loop in place while the needle is being withdrawn, etc. There are numerous devices of this type; some are illustrated in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,614,576; 1,873,257; 1,935,915; 2,442,906 and 3,714,915. Still other rug tufting devices in the prior art do not use a looper but use instead a pressure foot similar to that of a sewing machine and work on a similar principle. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 889,922; 673,730; 1,932,516 and 1,937,946.
Although a number of different hand operated rug-tufting devices have been used in the past, there is still a need for a device of this general type which would be particularly easy and safe to use, which would be capable of a number of different adjustments to make a variety of rugs, and which would be inexpensive and sturdy. The invention is directed to providing a device of this type.
The rug-tufting device of this invention is almost entirely made of molded plastic components. It comprises an elongated housing, having a needle drive handle at the back end and a forward portion extending axially from the back end and having a pair of separate, parallel and axially extending slots: a looper holder slot receiving a looper holder and a needle holder slot receiving a needle holder. The two holders are received for reciprocating movement axially, along the length of the housing. A looper is secured to the looper holder and extends forwardly of the housing, and a tufting needle is secured to the needle holder and extends forwardly of the housing. A looper drive handle is secured to the looper holder to reciprocate it by moving the looper drive handle along the length of the housing. A length of yarn extends through an eye in the tufting needle.
In operation, the looper is retracted by pulling back the looper drive handle, and the needle is pushed through stretched burlap or similar material until the front of the housing is against the burlap. The looper is then pushed forward, through the same hole, to engage the loop of yarn and hold it while the needle is withdrawn. The needle is withdrawn completely from the burlap while the looper remains in place. As the needle is withdrawn and clears the burlap, it is pushed aside to point to the site of a new hole adjacent the hole where the looper is. The needle is then pushed through the burlap to form a new loop through a new hole and the looper is withdrawn from the previous hole and pushed through the new hole to hold the new loop, etc., to thereby form a row of adjacent loops in a sequence resembling walking the tufting device along the burlap.
The invented rug-tufting device is capable of numerous adjustments. The needle holder can be affixed to the housing at any one of a number of positions along the length thereof, by removing a retaining pin (by hand and without any tools) that extends transversely through a hole in the housing and a matching hole in the needle holder, moving the needle holder along the length of the housing to align the hole in the holder with another hole in the housing, and then reintroducing the retaining pin, to thereby change the distance by which the needle extends forwardly of the housing. Should even finer adjustments be needed, the device can be modified by securing to the needle holder by screws extending through elongated slots, and moving the needle along the slots with respect to the screws. Different needles can be used with the same needle holder. The distance by which the looper can extend forwardly of the housing can be similarly adjusted by changing the axial position of the looper drive handle with respect to the looper holder, and/or changing the axial position of the looper with respect to the looper holder. The looper holder has an axially extending row of holes and a retaining pin extends through one of these holes and through the looper drive handle to secure the two together. The housing has a forward stop engaging the looper drive handle in its forward motion and determining how far the looper can extend forwardly of the housing. By changing the axial position of the looper drive handle with respect to the looper holder, the distance by which the looper can extend forwardly of the housing can be changed. Moreover, the looper is attached to the looper holder by screws extending through any selected ones of a row of holes axially extending along the looper holder, again for the purpose of additional, finer adjustment of the distance by which the looper can extend forwardly of the housing. The needle drive handle is hollow and forms a needle case which can be used for a storage area for needles and the like. The needle case is closed by a lid at the back end of the needle drive handle. The axial depth of the needle holder slot corresponds to the combined length of the needle holder and the needle, whereby the device can be safely stored when the retaining pin of the needle holder is removed and the needle holder is pushed all the way back into the housing for a maximum retraction of the needle.